The sum of two numbers is $178$, and their difference is $16$. What are the two numbers?
Explanation: Let $x$ be the first number, and let $y$ be the second number. The system of equations is: ${x+y = 178}$ ${x-y = 16}$ Solve for $x$ and $y$ using elimination. Add the top and bottom equations together. $ 2x = 194 $ $ x = \dfrac{194}{2} $ ${x = 97}$ Now that you know ${x = 97}$ , plug it back into $ {x+y = 178}$ to find $y$ ${(97)}{ + y = 178}$ ${y = 81}$ You can also plug ${x = 97}$ into $ {x-y = 16}$ and get the same answer for $y$ ${(97)}{ - y = 16}$ ${y = 81}$ Therefore, the larger number is $97$, and the smaller number is $81$.